Archive for May, 2009
Kiddos and their Budgie Buddies at the zoo
May 29, 2009 Mommato2 | UncategorizedWe went to the zoo today with our MOMS Club and had fun. It was a madhouse there today. So many people. But, we still enjoyed the day. Here are photos from one of their new attractions:
What we would call Parakeets are also known as budgies in Australia (I think). We bought seed sticks for $1 and then you just had to be very patient to get a bird to land on your stick. Since it was so busy, the birds weren’t terribly hungry. But, the one that Lara and Ethan got to feed was brave and munched on several of the kids’ seed sticks. Ethan did great until he reached out to try and pet the bird and he flew away. One of the keepers said that bird is one of the bravest ones they have and they have about 130 birds.
In the car headed to the zoo. We got stopped by a train (which almost NEVER happens on the tracks close to us).
Photo Post
May 29, 2009 Mommato2 | UncategorizedHere are some photos:
Ethan getting his teeth cleaned. Such a big boy!
Spring Roll Night…what would a deployment be without great friends!?
Michelle’s California rolls she made. Yum!
My spring rolls
I definitely like making spring rolls at home better than eating them out. Taste much better. Although, I found that I don’t like them as leftovers.
Other than that, for Memorial Day weekend we were busy with friends and it was great. We had a potluck all weekend long. So nice to not have to spend a weekend by yourself when other people have their husbands home. Makes all the difference.
We still have not eaten out. Granted, we’ve gone to the store a two times and the kids have picked out a kids cuisine (busy grocery shopping and didn’t have time to make lunch), or a lunchable (were headed to the park and I was out of PB and J), but I’ve been told that doesn’t count as eating out, so that makes me happy. Tomorrow marks 2 weeks of no eating out.
We’re heading to the zoo in a short while with friends. Yesterday we went to a park with friends that just moved out here from Irwin and my arms are a nice bright red color. So, looks like I will be wearing a long-sleeved shirt to protect my arms today. Not fun with this gorgeous weather. But, any sunlight on my arms hurts. I love that I made sure my kids had sunscreen on, but I’m too busy being the Mom to remember to take care of myself. Lesson learned! At least my face didn’t get burned (I always wear sunscreen everyday on my face).
Wherever you are, I hope you are enjoying this gorgeous weather! More photos to come. They have a new exhibit at the zoo to feed the parakeets, so I know we will do that today.
Dentist Visit Update
May 22, 2009 Mommato2 | UncategorizedWell, I have two cavity free kids..yeah! Ethan hopped up in the chair like a pro. They painted his teeth with some stuff to see if we missed any spots while brushing, and, we hadn’t missed any. Then he got flossed and cleaned and then some flouride. They’re hoping next time to get x-rays on the back of the teeth to check for cavities between the teeth.
Lara did great while Ethan was getting his teeth cleaned. She loved getting a new toothbrush. But, she screamed while her teeth got cleaned. Now that she has her full set of baby teeth, it’s been determined that she will need braces. She has her mommy’s mouth. Too many teeth and not enough room. Her teeth are already overcrowded. Amazing how they can see that when she’s only 2. She said that as her permanent teeth come in, eventhough they are straight now, she’s so crowded that they will not stay that way. But hey, we’ve got 1 out of 2 that needs braces. Not too shabby. And at least this has nothing to do with the fact she had a binky. She just doesn’t have enough room.
Other than that, we have not eaten out since Saturday morning. I hate doing the dishes, but I don’t feel so guilty about what I’m feeding my kids. I’m aiming now for 2 weeks w/o eating out. I’ve already got r meals planne until next Sunday. Granted, we haven’t eaten at home all the time. We’ve had some potlucks, and tonight, the kids are eating at the hourly care center. But, it’s not fast food! Our meals probably still aren’t 100% where I would like them to be, but they’ve actually only had chicken fries/nuggets once. They have had corn dogs a few times, but they really like those. I just make sure they have some veggies and fruits to go along with it.
At least the potlucks help break up the hum-drum of eating at home for 3 meals a day. I knew I could do this, it just takes planning. Like I said, I finally feel like I’m coming out of my funk and finding my groove. It’s only taken 3 months!
Has it really been that long??
May 21, 2009 Mommato2 | UncategorizedI didn’t realize I hadn’t blogged since Mother’s Day.
I have good reason, tho! I promise. Life has been just a tiny bit crazy. Once again, Charlie, the most wonderful dog in the world, has proven that he does not enjoy deployments. If you remember, the last deployment, I spent a BUNCH of money trying to figure out what was wrong with him, only to realize that yes, he still has food allergies, but he also has bad separation anxiety.
This time…what did he do? He ate an entire rotisserie chicken. At least I got the meat off it before hand. But, I wasn’t thinking, and after I stripped the chicken clean, I just put the bones back into the container and left it on the stove. Monday was trash day after all, and it needed to be thrown away. Why, oh why, would I have put it away? Because the silly dog ate all the bones! I mean, all of them. Minus the drumsticks which I had put in the fridge with the other chicken. So, I called the vet, then dropped the kids off at a friends, then took Charlie in. 2 x-rays, 3 medications, and a whole bunch of money later, we came home. I had to COOK his meals of steamed rice and, yes, you guessed it, CHICKEN! He’s just now on regular dog food today. Crazy dog!
We also went to Elmo, LIVE on Tuesday the 12th:
The kids loved it. My camera freaked out about halfway through. So, didn’t get many good photos. The lens started to act up. But, we had fun. This is how I viewed the majority of the show:
Lara stood on my lap, and I held onto Ethan with the other arm trying to keep him from falling through the chairs. We had good seats, but I’d probably try to get us closer like we were last year. This show was about Elmo’s green thumb. So cute! Good music. We bought the soundtrack. My favorite were the beatles singing about trash. The past two years, these programs are very well put together. The hardest part is getting out of there without spending a fortune. Luckily, I convinced the kids that popcorn and a drink was a treat and they did NOT need any more toys.
Here are some more photos of our lives lately:
Miss Attitude
This boy wears his cowboy hat EVERYWHERE!
We went to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese’s. The kids wanted nothing to do with Chuck E. Lara actually tried to get as far away as possible from him as he walked by. She wouldn’t even sit at the table with the kids for pizza because he might come back out. Funny how she loved Elmo, and even wanted to go and shake hands and give hugs with the characters, but other things, she hates. Ethan was pretty unsure himself. A giant mouse…I can see how it might be scary.
Lara combing her hair with the comb she picked out with her tickets.
I will say it was a fun birthday party. I think us parents had the most fun. We had so many tokens, so we were on mission to earn tickets for the kids. We walked out with about 400. So, Ethan and Lara had fun picking things out. I played skee-ball and won the 100 tickets for getting a score over 47,000. Fun times!
That’s our life lately. We go to the dentist today for the kids. Praying for no cavities. We brush twice a day, but I know cavities still happen.
Other than that, we’ve had gorgeous weather lately. We’ve planted more strawberries, 3 tomato plants, and been busy trying to prune the yard and get the weeds out. Fun times! But, it’s enjoyable to me to get to do it. I already have blooms on my strawberry plants from last year, so I’m hoping to get some good fruit this year. They’ve really grown and spread, so here’s hoping! I bought netting to put over them this year to keep the birds and critters out.
I’ll post more photos soon (if Lara cooperates, I’ll get photos at the dentist today).
Happy Mother’s Day!
May 11, 2009 Mommato2 | UncategorizedI had a pretty good Mother’s Day. Of course, what can a 2 and 3 yr old really do when they’re on their own? They can’t drive, they don’t have any money, and their ability to really create something without me knowing is almost nothing.
But, the teachers in their Bible class helped them create some special gifts:
They made cards and their hand prints were cross-stitched and framed. So sweet! I’ve already got them on the mantle.
Here are some other photos since I haven’t had many photos lately:
Ethan putting hats on Charlie.
JDRF Walk. The kids walked ALMOST the entire way. They probably walked a good 2.5 miles!! I was so proud of them. Lara kept telling me that she was walking for Ty-Ty. So sweet.
Ethan and Tyler
Heather and Lara.
My pretty toes for Mother’s Day.
silly boy!
How can 2 kids be so completely different?!?!
May 8, 2009 Mommato2 | UncategorizedReally…they both come from the same parents. I gave birth to both of them and it amazes me how different the two of them are.
For example: Lara’s always been clingy. She’s a Momma’s girl. But, I thought we had turned the corner and she was at least getting comfortable in the hourly care setting. She’s been going for months on a regular basis. Then, we go out of town, and now we’re back to square one. Today, they had to PRY her off of me. Her little fists wrapped around my shirt so tight that I had to have a teacher pull her as I made her release her fingers off of my shirt. The entire time, she’s screaming, and I’m fighting tears because it really does break my heart. What does Ethan do? He runs to his class, says hi to his teachers (which are different than the normal evening teachers), washes his hands, and goes to find a friend to play with.
He’s the mellow, easy-going child, and she’s my slow-to-warm up, and terrified of me leaving her. Tonight, even at bed time, she kept crying and screaming. So, I had to sit with her until she fell asleep. I don’t think it helped that she refused to nap today. She’s had some rough days since we’ve been home. All of this just proves that I really need to continue taking her to hourly care so she remembers that I’m not going to be gone forever. It’s just exhausting! But, even with all of this, she even refused to go to Bible class on Wednesday night, and she had to come to class with me while I taught the Cradle Roll. That was an adventure!
What do you do with an almost 2 1/2 yr old with separation anxiety!? I’m sure it’s all deployment related, especially since she was ABSOLUTELY FINE before we went out of town for those 4 weeks. But, during that time, I was with my kids 24/7. No break at all. So, she got used to me always being around again. But, during that time, I just about lost my mind. This mommy needs an occasional break from her precious angels!
When people ask if we want more kids, I look at Lara and just laugh. She’s my girl, but WOW! If I had another with separation anxiety like this, I wouldn’t have any hair left by the time they moved past the stage, and I’d be as big as a house! I’m a stress-eater, by the way, and when she does stuff like this, my stress level goes through the roof. I just feel bad that she’s having a hard time and I don’t know how to make it better, which then leads to me getting stressed out.
Have I mentioned how much I love deployments!?
The Tahoe is Fixed
May 6, 2009 Mommato2 | UncategorizedYes, that’s right. I got the Tahoe fixed. The a/c went out last summer, but, since we live in WA, you don’t really need it. But, when I got back from our trip, the car started to idle rough and even died on me a few times thanks to it not being able to maintain the RPMs when at a stop sign or coming to a stop. So, after 5 days in the shop, the idle is fixed and so is the a/c. It was not a pretty check to sign, but it’s done and I’ve driven it all day today and it drives like it’s supposed to!! So nice.
I’m also very thankful we found a great place to go that is trustworthy and really works to find the best deal. They also have a customer loyalty program where you get 5% of your services back to use towards other services. And, after today, I could have like 6 oil changes for free! HAHA So, if you need a good place to go up here in WA, I found one that I would highly recommend, and they came recommended to us by someone who has gone to them for years. I just wish we had found this place sooner instead of going to the stupid dealership all those times (they weren’t that friendly or helpful!).
So, this completes task #71 on my list. Yeah!!
I’ve also started back to Weight Watchers. So, I’m on day 1. I know I have it in me to do this and get those 30 lbs off, but I’m a stress eater, and deployments definitely do not help with my stress. So, I’m just focusing on only keeping healthy foods in the house and limiting going out to eat. I know this works, but I just have to stick with it and fight the stress and frustration that comes with deployments. So, I’m posting it on here so all of you that read this can keep me in check on this journey and make sure I actually do it! HAHA
Funy Things Being Said Around Our House
May 4, 2009 Mommato2 | UncategorizedOk, Ethan and Lara have been saying some funny sayings lately. Here are a few:
Ethan:
When being asked what someone’s name is, he replies often after thinking for a few seconds with a very serious look, ” I do not know their name, Mom”.
Lara, when trying to get your attention will holler, “Hey…..Mom!” So, I often respond, “Hey…Lara!”.
Ethan knows that he can’t wear his hats at the table, so he calmly will tell anyone, “My mommy says no hats at the table”. He will also tell you no hats if you happen to be wearing one.
Lara often tells you when you ask her if she would like to do something, “I do not think so.”
Ethan, when watching the Disney Channel, saw three guys on T.V. singing a song….he quickly said, “Mommy, that’s the Jonas Brothers!”
Ethan also told me the other day at hourly care when I told him to go potty and wash his hands before going to play, “Soap is not neccessasry, Mom” (I don’t know WHERE he picked that one up…not from me!)
Lara, when she wants something will tell you, “Mommy…I really NEEEEEED (insert item here)” It’s hilarous.
I will definitely say that they don’t cease to stop entertaining me on a regular basis with their new words.
